The Future of the Library The Future of the Library As Place – or No PlaceAs Place – or No Place

Joseph J. BraninDirector of Libraries

The Ohio State University

SOCHE ConferenceDayton, Ohio

January 31, 2007

The William Oxley Thompson Memorial (Main) Library

Site Plan: Center of Campus

Original Building, 1910-1913: Allen & Collins Architects, Boston

Original Building, 1913Original Building, 1913

First Addition, Stack Tower and Two Wings, 1948-1952: Howard Dwight Smith, University Architect

Second Addition, 1975-1977: Lorenz, Williams, Lively, & Likens Architects

The Original Reading Room

The Current Reading Room

The Grand Reference Hall, 2009 (rendering)

Eastern Façade Second Floor Plan

View from the East

View from the Southwest

New Western Elevation

Cross Section of the Renovation Design

New Atrium Spaces

New Atrium Spaces

New Western Reading Room (rendering)

Campus Reading Room: Reclaimed space on the top floor of the stacks tower

Why Invest in a Library as Place Today?

For important traditional reasons1. Central, historical building on campus in

need of updating2. Print remains and important and often

preferred medium for reading and “making sense” of information• The Myth of the Paperless Office by

Abigail Sellen and Richard Harper (MIT Press, 2002)

• The Social Life of Information by John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid (Harvard Business School Press, 2000)

Why Invest in a Library as Place today?

For important new reasons1. As centers for training and use in new media

and information technology2. As community places for cultural

programming and literacy education3. As social learning space

• Individual study and research• Group work• In person interaction of students, faculty,

librarians, and information resources

Ohio State Colby College

Ohio State Colby College

Wellesley College

Information Commons, Indiana University Libraries

Cornell University Library

Digital Union

ReadAloud

Undergraduate Research

Open Reserve Textbooks

Libraries Key in Shaping Students' College Choice

• A new study by the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers reveals that more than half the students surveyed ranked the condition of a university's libraries near the top of their list of reasons for choosing a college

• Only lower than facilities related to specific majors

• Higher than classrooms, dorms, rec centers, student unions, cafeterias

Facilities Manager March/April 2006

Facilities Manager March/April 2006

Extremely or Very Important Facilities in the Selection Decision Process

Thompson Library Renovation: Timetable and Cost

• 9 Year Project– 2000 to 2002 Feasibility Study (URS/SBRA)– 2003 to 2006 Design (Acock/Gund)– 2006 to 2009 One Phase Construction (Turner/Smoot)

• Temporary quarters at 600 Ackerman Rd. and Sullivant Hall

• $108 Million Cost ($78 in State appropriations and $30 in private fund raising)– $73M in construction– $35M in furnishings, fixtures, civic improvements,

landscaping, design fees

Breaking the Bounds of Place: Digital Information Services

• Document delivery: information to the office or desktop

• Networked reference tools, journals, and books-- the OhioLINK connection

• Discovery through Internet search engines, web sites, local catalogs

• Campus enterprise-wide digital information support services (a tool kit for library assistance in research and learning)

• Campus enterprise-wide digital information support services • Knowledge Bank digital repository service• OSU:pro expertise system• Copyright management• Course management system and e-reserves• Media Manager• Database construction and data curation

Breaking the Bounds of Place: Digital Information Services (cont.)

A Great University – A Great Library